Sarasota Opera Announces Expansion of 'HD at the Opera House' Series

By: Apr. 23, 2014
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Sarasota Opera is pleased to announce the expansion of its new broadcast and film series called "HD at the Opera House". This new series is allowing Sarasota Opera to expand its programming from the fall and winter season to year-around. In addition to opera, the series will include ballet and theater from some of the world's most famous venues. All showings will occur in the William E. Schmidt Opera Theatre at the Sarasota Opera House.

"Sarasota Opera audiences are often asking for more programming," according to Executive Director Richard Russell. "We are happy to expand our season by providing content from around the world."

HD at the Opera House

Sarasota Opera launched its new series on April 14th with Mozart's Don Giovanni and will continue with screenings of opera, ballet, and theater through October 2014. Each presentation will be preceded by a 15 minute welcome and pre-show discussion.

There will be two showings of each production. The schedule for the remainder of the series is as follows:

Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi

Production from the Royal Opera House

Thursday, May 15th at 7pm

Sunday, May 18th at 1:30pm

Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry

Starring Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones

Thursday, June 5th at 7:00pm

Sunday, June 8th at 1:30pm and 7:00pm

La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi

Production from the Royal Opera House

Thursday, June 19th at 7:00pm

Sunday, June 22nd at 1:30pm

Aida by Giuseppe Verdi

Production from the Arena di Verona

Thursday, July 10th at 7:00pm

Sunday, July 13th at 1:30pm

Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini

Production from the Royal Opera House

Thursday, July 24th at 7:00pm

Sunday, July 27th at 1:30pm

Sleeping Beauty choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev

Production from the Paris Opera

Thursday, August 28th at 7:00pm

Sunday, August 31st at 1:30pm

Mefistofele by Arrigo Boito

Production from the San Francisco Opera

Thursday, September 11th at 7pm

Thursday, September 14th at 1:30pm

The Girl of the Golden West by Giacomo Puccini

Production from the Paris Opera

Thursday, October 2nd at 7pm

Sunday, October 5th at 1:30pm

Tickets are now on sale. Ticket prices are $20 for general admission and $25 for seating in the orchestra boxes or Mezzanine. $20 Tickets are available for purchase at the Sarasota Opera Box Office and online at http://www.sarasotaopera.org/Opera_in_HD.aspx. $25 tickets are ONLY available at the Sarasota Opera Box Office. Current Sarasota Opera subscribers will receive a 10% discount on ticket prices.

Sarasota Opera was recently awarded grants from the William and Marie Selby Foundation, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation to purchase film projection equipment for the Opera House, and an additional "Building Opera Audiences" grant from OperaAmerica to support marketing.

ABOUT SARASOTA OPERA

Based in Florida's beautiful Gulf Coast, Sarasota Opera is approaching its 55th consecutive season. In 1960, the company began presenting chamber-sized repertoire in the historic 320-seat Asolo Theater on the grounds of Sarasota's Ringling Museum of Art. Recognizing the need for a theater more conducive to opera, the company purchased the former A.B. Edwards Theater in downtown Sarasota in 1979 and first performing in it in 1984 as the Sarasota Opera House. The theater has just undergone a $20-million renovation and rehabilitation enhancing audience amenities, while updating the technical facilities including increasing the size of the orchestra pit. The theater, which reopened in March 2008, has been called "one of America's finest venues for opera" by Musical America.

Since 1983 the company has been under the artistic leadership of Victor DeRenzi. Since then the company has garnered international attention with its Masterwork Revivals Series, which presents neglected works of artistic merit, as well as the Verdi Cycle producing the complete works of Giuseppe Verdi. Recognizing the importance of training, Maestro DeRenzi founded the Apprentice Artist and Studio Artist programs. Sarasota Opera also maintains a commitment to education through its Invitation to Opera performances for local schools and the unique Sarasota Youth Opera program.

The 2014 Fall Season will feature Leoncavallo's Pagliacci followed by the return of the Sarasota Youth Opera production of Dean Burry'sThe Hobbit. The 2015 Winter Festival includes Puccini's Tosca, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel, and Verdi's Don Carlos. Subscriptions are now on sale at the Sarasota Opera Box Office. Single Tickets for the 2014-2015 season will go on sale August 1st online and September 2nd in the box office. For more information, please call (941) 328-1300, go online at www.sarasotaopera.org, or visit the Sarasota Opera Box Office at 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236.

Sarasota Opera is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Programs are supported in part by an award the Tourist Development Tax through the Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council and the Sarasota County Arts Council. Additional funding is provided by the City of Sarasota and the County of Sarasota.



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